My growing up years occurred in several states, all west of the Mississippi: New Mexico, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and California. As a teenager I made a life forming and life transforming commitment to Jesus Christ. At that moment Jesus became, and continues to become, my Savior, Teacher, Lord, and Friend. I, in short, accepted Christ as my Life.
In 1964 I received a Bachelor of Arts in Religion & Philosophy at George Fox College near Portland, Oregon and then in 1970 received a Doctor of Pastoral Theology in New Testament & Social Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.
Carolynn and I were married in 1967 at Alamitos Friends Church in Garden Grove, California, the church in which I grew up and then served as Minister of Youth. We have two children, Joel and Nathan, who now have families of their own.
I suppose I am best known for my book Celebration of Discipline. It was a effort to re-introduce the classical Disciplines of the spiritual life to a Christian community largely alienated from this rich tradition. In addition, I have written Freedom of Simplicity, Money, Sex, & Power (now titled The Challenge of the Disciplined Life),PRAYER: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Prayers from the Heart and Streams of Living Water. There is a book length complication of my writings entitled Seeking the Kingdom. In addition, I have co-edited two volumes; Devotional Classics (with James Bryan Smith) and Spiritual Classics (with Emilie Griffin). Perhaps my most ambitious project to date is as Editor of the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible. This involved four General Editors and some fifty contributors.
In 1988 I established Renovaré , which includes many gifted leaders in its ministry team. Previously I had been instrumental in the founding of two other organizations–The Academy of Christian Editors and The Chrysostom Society, a fellowship of writers of Christian conviction. Renovaré, however, is where I have expended my most strenuous effort and into which I have distilled my most creative thought. Today all three organizations continue to thrive under new and vigorous leadership.
Through the years I have served in a variety of ministry positions: e.g. Minister of Youth, Adolescent and Family Counselor, Coordinator of Inner City Ministries, and Associate Pastor. Following graduation from Fuller Theological Seminary I accepted a call to be the Pastor for Woodlake Avenue Friends Church in Canoga Park, California. Those were years of hammering out the themes that would later emerge in Celebration of Discipline. Next, I served on the Pastoral Team at Newberg Friends Church in Newberg, Oregon where I shared the preaching assignments with Pastor Ron Woodward and the various tasks of ministry with a gifted team of pastors. It was also here that I wrote Celebration.
Carolynn and I now reside in a wooded setting near Denver, Colorado. While I continue to speak in various venues, especially in Korea, I devote the bulk of my energies these days to writing and to grandkids, of which there are eight!
My most satisfying activity these days is hiking in the Colorado Rocky Mountains which are virtually at my doorstep. I thrill to the intricacies of Columbine and Larkspur, Golden Banner and Indian Paintbrush. High above I relish the antics of Hawk and Jay, American Goldfinch, and Dark-eyed Junco. I can hear chipmunks and squirrels scratching for food, and now and again I catch sight of a family of rattlesnakes . . . which I always give a wide berth. Many people tell me about sightings of mountain lion and bear, but my encounters are rare indeed, maybe once or twice in many years of hiking. I do relish in the abundance of Ponderosa Pine and Quaking Aspen, with the occasional Gambel Oak and Mountain Mahogany mixed in. Of course, I am seldom far from the jubilant mountain streams—babbling, splashing, gurgling. The sounds are pleasing and, in a strange way, they both calm and energize me. You can read more about my mountain adventures in my son Nathan’s book Wisdom Chaser, which will be available in April 2010.
Occasionally I will catch sight of fleet-footed mountain goats scampering high up in the rocks . . . and those rocks that endlessly intrigue me. They really are the “rocky” mountains. Whole mountains of granite, hard and durable; huge conglomerate boulders, reminders of the vast prehistoric sea that once covered this area; sparkling white and rose quartz scattered about, and much more.
